Coleman and Wendling will be ok behind Delmas. I trust Wendling way more than I trust Amari to take the right angles. I'm curious if it'll be Delmas/Coleman or Delmas / Wendling to start the season. Only other option is to hopefully to get someone in a trade or late release.

Amari Spievey, however, sucks. He needs to be released. His angles on the ball are horrible, and his tackling is something out of a kids game.

.

I'm done with Spievey. He is a huge play waiting to happen with his angles. This really needed to be corrected and it hasn't - he needs to be cut cause he is killing us.

I was encouraged by the starting safeties, not terrible.

Agree! Mayhew needs to own up to the fact that he was a wasted pick. Cut him and move on. I'm sure there will be young (rookie) safeties cut from other teams in the near future. Would rather see the Lions grab and develop one of them as opposed to wasting time on Spievey.

Did Bentley even play? I wanted to see him get tested early and often. But, Flacco apparently, felt better testing Houston often. I didn't hear Bentley even mentioned once.

Bell hurt himself with that fumble. It shows that he was unaware that his pocket was about to be picked. That kind of fumble should never ever happen.

The Lions need to pay about 10 people to come in and take turns running around so our defense can practice the art of tackling. That was pathetic watching players pinball off them.

That helmet to helmet by Palmer may have lost Palmer his job.

And Hogue is garbage. Cut him.

August 18th, 2012, 9:06 am

The Legend

Team President - Rod Wood

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 5013Location: WSU

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

m2karateman wrote:

I want to watch this game to see several things:

1. How much pressure our D-line can bring against a pretty good offensive line.2. How well our starting backers do against a good running attack3. How well our starting o-line protects Stafford and opens holes4. If the team can limit penalties again

1. zero to minimal2. okay, couldve been better, couldve been worse3. Protection good, holes better than it looked, K Smith didnt have a great game4. Not even close

August 18th, 2012, 9:50 am

The Legend

Team President - Rod Wood

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 5013Location: WSU

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

m2karateman wrote:

First half observations:

Running game for the Lions is practically non-existantSecondary is doing a pretty good job. Erik Coleman and John Wendling really did pretty well. Amari Spievey, however, sucks. He needs to be released. His angles on the ball are horrible, and his tackling is something out of a kids game.I didn't see the d-line produce any pressure. That is pretty disheartening.Matt Stafford had a pretty good game, but he zeroes in on CJ entirely too much. A couple times he forced the ball to Calvin, when he had other receivers that were open. And he's lucky he didn't throw a pick six.The offensive line did a good job pass protecting, for the most part. But they are getting absolutely no push in the run game.

And of course, the Lions are committing way too many penalties.Coverage units are sucking....BIG time!

Other than his fumble near the goal line, Joique Bell looked good once again. If I were coaching this team, I'd have a hard time letting him go in favor of keeping Keiland Williams. Stefon Green doesn't look too bad tonight either.

Riley Reiff and Jason Fox did a pretty good job tonight in their reserve roles. But some of these receivers that are on the bubble aren't playing like it. Dropping passes certainly isn't the thing to do at this point.

pretty much agree but too early to cut spievey at this point in preseason

August 18th, 2012, 9:55 am

Hystrix

National Champion

Joined: August 13th, 2006, 11:04 pmPosts: 902Location: Colorado

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

What about John Wendling? He had a decent pass defenced and a sack against Baltimores starters no less. He seemed pretty good.

And, hey, the Lions didn't give up a TD that's good, right?

August 18th, 2012, 10:37 am

The Legend

Team President - Rod Wood

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 5013Location: WSU

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

QB - Stafford was better but I agree with m2k assessment. Stafford isnt always throwing the ball where he really should. On the Calvin TD for example, Jimmy Smith was all over CJ but Pettigrew was wide open past the sticks. On another play he forced into a double covered Pettigrew when the other TE (either Heller or Scheffler was uncovered). I guess as long as we have Calvin it ll work for the most part but at some point he needs to see the field better. Shaun Hill didnt really seem all that into the game yesterday, I could ve gone without his performance. He wasnt good or bad I just didnt like the effort, also players like McClendon cant be in there protecting Hill. Hill is just too valuable. Moore was better but still has a ways to go. Maybe did enough to consider him getting onto the PS. Archer got in, happy for him.

RB - Smith missed some holes, okay maybe not "holes" but some cutbacks. There wasnt a ton of running room anyway so cant fault him too much. He s still our top runner and Im just glad he is healthy. Logan going down in that fashion was sad to see but I dont think giving him this much larger of a role in the offense was really working anyway. To me it looked like an Achilles injury but probably not a complete tear since they said he walked off under his own power without a limp, possibly was just a muscle strain. Anyway he looked better in the return game then he had in a while. Williams and Bell to me seem pretty neck and neck, Bell looked a little better this week but that fumble may cost him. Good to see Green get in and flash some speed. Would like to see more of him next week, he fits the mold of a poor mans Best just as well as Logan did.

FB - Bryant was decent again but didnt play with the starters. I dont see a point in keeping him as long as Heller can do double duty and do some lead blocking.

TE - Top 3 are set and did fine. I dont remember seeing much of Scheffler but thats fine. Overbay made a nice play amongst the reserves.

WR - Calvin is just a total beast and you cant fault Stafford for forcing it to him (when others are open) if Calving keeps making those kinds of plays. IMO he s clearly the top receiver in the NFL. Sorry Larry Fitzgerald. Young made the big play and it was good to see Broyles find an open area and make a couple catches. The next wave of receivers, Edwards did a good job fielding punts but still hasnt made a mark as a wideout in the game. The healthier Broyles gets, the less of a need for him. Stovall didnt do anything on offense and was part of the big kick coverage mess. Nate Hughes had a decent game. Lance Long, Curry - I didnt see much from them.

OL - Backus looked better than last week. Peterman really got blown up one time but otherwise no major gaffes. Would like to see them make some more room in the running game but when they are zone blocking like they were, Smith has to find a cutback which he didnt do a good job - just average. Hilliard played briefly at LT then gave way to Fox who also played some RT later. Reifff played only at RT this week and looked very good. Reiff and Hilliard are total locks. Not sure what the plans are for Fox, I think he makes it, but if not at least he has some tape of him playing where he looks like a viable player. Mcclendon stood out for being bad but the reserve group overall did a lot better this week protecting Moore.

DL - Not a lot of pressure overall. L Jack was very good against the run especially and was getting penetration without ending up out of position. He s playing at a starter level from that perspective. Avril didnt get much done and got burned on the end around play which was a poor read of the OL action on the play but with how often both him and KVB got burned with that last year it may be related to their scheme. I cant tell at this point anymore. Everett Brown had a bad game whereas Ronnel Lewis looked good again. He has a future at DE and isnt just a special teamer. Fluellen again played pretty well but it s going to be hard to keep more than 4 DTs when you have 5 DEs. Would like to see Sammie Lee Hill get back in the action soon. Fairley looked good but w the stupid late hit and offseason stuff he s a difficult player to root for. He also became less effective the longer he was in the game even though the Ravens brought in weaker opposition. Suh relies on his strength too much, he could do more to get off the blocks. Driving the OL backwards is helpful though and he does a good job of that. Easily Suh couldve been called for trying to throw/wrestle OL to the ground after the play. He doesnt seem to have a good feel for how the OL is blocking him though and is more concerned with punishing his opponent than making a play. Williams got pancaked by a trap block. Overall this group will benefit from KVBs return. I dont see as much hustle to the ball (entire defense included) but on the DL except for Jackson I saw a lot of guys that seemed to be playing one on one rather than as a team. Willie Young with the punt block but also shouldve had the safety. Hope he can stay healthy this year.

LBs - Levy s slow to react to plays doesnt matter what it is - playing run or getting depth in zone coverage he s slower than the other starters. He did tackle better than usual. Durant had a bad game, He reads and reacts quickly and appropriately but got beaten in coverage (where he usually isnt very good), missed a tackle and then had an unnecessary but blatant facemask. Tulloch was fine. Ashlee Palmer also had a bad game. Looked like T Lewis pulled up lame on special teams and didnt get to play defense. Hope he s okay. Hogue got his reps and played better than a week ago. Whitehead had an even game, I didnt see much good or bad from him. Messina didnt get onto the D until late but made a big play 1 week after being all over the field. Slade Norris does a decent job but I think the Lions are cutting him and holding onto there draft picks.

DBs - Flacco came after them right away and I dont they were necessarily ready. Hopefully thats just a lesson for them. Coleman and Wendling are clearly ahead of Spievey. I had a low opinion of Coleman prior to the season but I think he starts alongside Delmas week 1 if Delmas can make it back. Maybe its bc Spievey has missed some practice time but his play was really discouraging. Sean Jones was better but Silva looked worse than a week ago. Jonte Green was targetted quite often and his play was better than last week but he s still not all the way there. Alfonso Smith was better. Bentley and Lacey both got beat early but they were playing off the ball anyway and settled down later. Overall I think this group played better but Im still concerned.

Punters - Graham seems to have the edge although Donahue did have a beauty he was inconsistent.Kickers - Hanson with a 50 yarders, have to like that. The guy Baltimore used, Tucker looked good - maybe a guy to keep an eye on for a year from now or if there are injury problems.Special Teams - The specialists were good but the coverage was terrible. Even late in the game when they gave up some big returns and an onside kick they did have guys like Stovall, K Williams, Whitehead that figure to be Special Teamers in the regular season in the game. It reflects very poorly on Coach Danny Crossman that they flopped throughout the game and regardless of personnel.

Last edited by The Legend on August 18th, 2012, 11:08 am, edited 3 times in total.

August 18th, 2012, 10:58 am

The Legend

Team President - Rod Wood

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 5013Location: WSU

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

Hystrix

Quote:

What about John Wendling? He had a decent pass defenced and a sack against Baltimores starters no less. He seemed pretty good.

And, hey, the Lions didn't give up a TD that's good, right?

Holding teams to FGs is invaluable. THe lions got dominated in the first quarter but only gave up 2 FGs and then we see how easily Megatron and Stafford can erase that entire first quarter with two plays to put us ahead.

August 18th, 2012, 11:01 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

The Legend wrote:

m2karateman wrote:

First half observations:

Running game for the Lions is practically non-existantSecondary is doing a pretty good job. Erik Coleman and John Wendling really did pretty well. Amari Spievey, however, sucks. He needs to be released. His angles on the ball are horrible, and his tackling is something out of a kids game.I didn't see the d-line produce any pressure. That is pretty disheartening.Matt Stafford had a pretty good game, but he zeroes in on CJ entirely too much. A couple times he forced the ball to Calvin, when he had other receivers that were open. And he's lucky he didn't throw a pick six.The offensive line did a good job pass protecting, for the most part. But they are getting absolutely no push in the run game.

And of course, the Lions are committing way too many penalties.Coverage units are sucking....BIG time!

Other than his fumble near the goal line, Joique Bell looked good once again. If I were coaching this team, I'd have a hard time letting him go in favor of keeping Keiland Williams. Stefon Green doesn't look too bad tonight either.

Riley Reiff and Jason Fox did a pretty good job tonight in their reserve roles. But some of these receivers that are on the bubble aren't playing like it. Dropping passes certainly isn't the thing to do at this point.

pretty much agree but too early to cut spievey at this point in preseason

It's a waste of time to have him in games. I'd prefer they use Silva or Jones and see how well they do. Spievey is a waste of a roster spot. He's in his third year and has had built in excuses for his poor play that past two seasons. First it was that he was making a position change, and last year it was the shortened pre-season. What's the excuse now?

Sorry, but I say waive him immediately. We have two more pre-season games to evaluate other players, and that's where the priority should lie. Spievey it just flat out a terrible, terrible player.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

August 18th, 2012, 11:45 am

The Legend

Team President - Rod Wood

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 5013Location: WSU

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

i dont know if you have followed but he says he is having post concussion symptoms and daily headaches. he s missed a lot of practice. i agree with you that he has sucked from day 1 of his rookie season but he flashed at times last year. jones and silva played a lot in both preseason games so i disagree that spievey is cutting into there playing time. silva in my opinion also sucked this week and schwartz has indicated he isnt happy with jones throughout the preseason.

billy - i agree with you that hogue doesnt look like anything special. he looked better this week than last but he s still got a lot to prove.

August 18th, 2012, 12:45 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

The Legend wrote:

i dont know if you have followed but he says he is having post concussion symptoms and daily headaches. he s missed a lot of practice. i agree with you that he has sucked from day 1 of his rookie season but he flashed at times last year. jones and silva played a lot in both preseason games so i disagree that spievey is cutting into there playing time. silva in my opinion also sucked this week and schwartz has indicated he isnt happy with jones throughout the preseason.

billy - i agree with you that hogue doesnt look like anything special. he looked better this week than last but he s still got a lot to prove.

Spievey only did well last season when he had Delmas back there to cover for him. The moment Delmas went down to injury, Spievey got exposed. As for his "post c'oncussion" issues, I have my doubts. It's yet another excuse. With how the league and the teams are approaching concussions, I very much doubt they would have him in the game if it were that serious.

I am not saying that Silva and/or Jones are the answer, but I would prefer to see them getting additional reps than to have Spievey wasting time in there. He's had more than enough time to prove himself, and he has. He's proven himself to be completely worthless.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

August 18th, 2012, 1:40 pm

njroar

Team MVP

Joined: September 25th, 2007, 3:20 amPosts: 3262

Re: GAMEDAY THREAD: Lions vs Ravens (preseason game 2)

m2karateman wrote:

The Legend wrote:

i dont know if you have followed but he says he is having post concussion symptoms and daily headaches. he s missed a lot of practice. i agree with you that he has sucked from day 1 of his rookie season but he flashed at times last year. jones and silva played a lot in both preseason games so i disagree that spievey is cutting into there playing time. silva in my opinion also sucked this week and schwartz has indicated he isnt happy with jones throughout the preseason.

billy - i agree with you that hogue doesnt look like anything special. he looked better this week than last but he s still got a lot to prove.

Spievey only did well last season when he had Delmas back there to cover for him. The moment Delmas went down to injury, Spievey got exposed. As for his "post c'oncussion" issues, I have my doubts. It's yet another excuse. With how the league and the teams are approaching concussions, I very much doubt they would have him in the game if it were that serious.

I am not saying that Silva and/or Jones are the answer, but I would prefer to see them getting additional reps than to have Spievey wasting time in there. He's had more than enough time to prove himself, and he has. He's proven himself to be completely worthless.

Him complaining about headaches before last week was the reason he didn't play. The media brought up the fact that he got a concussion in the playoff loss that started the post-concussion talk. No one mentioned it previously, and like m2k said, with how strict the doctors are being now because they don't want to get sued, there is no way he'd be cleared in a week if he showed ANY symptoms. And headaches, regardless of the cause, don't have you line up too deep, or too shallow and take bad angles when you're the safety valve. Those are symptoms have lack of football IQ. The corner had to tell him to back off the line on one play, and then he backed up too much and was yanked for Wendling the next play. In his 3rd year, he should know his coverages and assignments, but he doesn't. He showed promise, but his transition from corner to safety has been a failure.